Several St. John business people have formed a corporation called Love City Marina. They hope to create a new Virgin Islands marina at Enighed Pond, the commercial port which is used by the island's car ferries.
St. John resident Steve Black announced his intention during this week's Town Meeting about development options for the Cruz Bay waterfront.
In a prepared statement, Black pointed out that, "There is not one place on St. John, where a boater can come in, tie up, to have a meal at a restaurant, do shopping, or do provisioning for their boat," he asked. "St. John offers no services for boaters and this must change."
"While the BVI’s have become successful, we have become known for our neglect of boaters. Our island’s businesses get nothing from boaters, the Port Authority gets no fees for their coffers, and an entire economy is lost to somewhere else. Why should St. John be the only island in the Caribbean without a marina?" He added, "We have some engineers and architects to further design this
project.
Block's testimony included submission of a number of artists conceptual drawings and sketches of the possibilities for Cruz Bay development. You can see them here (courtesy of Black).
Black offered no further details about prospects for a marina, but he had lots of other ideas including:
- Dedicating the the Customs Parking Lot to ferry pick up and drop off use.
- Creating sidewalks on both sides of the road from Nature's Nook to Mongoose.
- Developing a Vendors Village at Enighed Pond to include markets for fish, meat, and vegetables
- Building an amphitheater that could be used for special events and the St. John Festival/Carnival.
- Read Steve Black's prepared statement. Click here.
Seems like a lot of good ideas. A pump out station would be a good idea as well… might keep the beaches and water a bit cleaner?
I second the pump out services. I cannot believe the STJ government and the NPS allow live-aboards in Cruz and Coral Bay. Yuck!
the link to the drawings is broken?
This is a great idea. A few years ago we boated all around the BVI and our last stop was our favorite destination, St. John. We basically had to bribe someone at a really nice hotel to let us dock our dingy while we went to eat and back.
We have vacationed on St. John since 1990. One of the things we love about it is that it is not overdeveloped like St. Thomas. It scares me to think that “cement commercialism” might overtake the west end of the island. Changing traffic patterns in Cruz Bay would definitely help and the idea of having a marina near the car ferry dock makes sense….that is not the most aesthetically pleasing area. However, people who would use the marina will want to go to Cruz Bay….how will they get there??
Does anyone know the status of this project? My firm specializes in marina development/redevelopment in the region. I can’t find a contact number for Mr. Black. Any help???
Build the marina!!!! The only reason we have not bought a home on St. Johns is because there is no marina.